The Hoplite

Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: September 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the eighth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should refer

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ARES releases Special Report 4, assessing CCM compliance of munitions with sensor-fuzed submunitions

Armament Research Services (ARES) is pleased to announce the release of Special Report 4, Munitions Employing Sensor-fuzed Submunitions: Do they Comply with the Convention on Cluster Munitions?. Special Report 4 critically evaluates the definition of “cluster munition” established by the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), in order to assess the convention’s applicability to cargo munitions

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Common Training Hand Grenades of the Warsaw Pact

Kristóf Nagy This short article offers a brief, inexhaustive overview of the most common training hand grenades used by Warsaw Pact forces primarily during the Cold War period—although some remain in use today. The training devices featured in this article include examples manufactured by the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East

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Arms Captured by the Taliban during their Conquest of Afghanistan

Mick F. Overview In May 2021, the Taliban began their annual spring offensive into Afghan Government-controlled territory. In previous annual campaigns—despite regularly inflicting a significant number of casualties against Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and achieving some territorial gains—the Taliban were unable to topple the Afghan Government. The 2021 campaign was different. Following an agreement

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: August 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the seventh in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should refer

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: July 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the sixth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should refer

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: June 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the fifth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: May 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the fourth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should

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Royal Thai Army acquires domestically produced MOD963 self-loading rifles

George Colclough Overview In October 2020, the Royal Thai Army (RTA; กองทัพบกไทย; kong thap bok thai) acquired two variants of a domestically produced 5.56 × 45 mm self-loading rifle derived from the AR-15, known as the MOD963. This acquisition represents a significant deviation from the norm for the RTA, which, despite having a long history of

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3D-printed firearms ‘factory’ in Finland raided

G. Hays & N.R. Jenzen-Jones More than 800 suspected criminals in at least 18 countries have been arrested after unwittingly making use of an encrypted chat application known as AN0M, which was administered by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Working in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies

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